A message from the Bishop...

In the Gospel of John, Jesus asks Peter: “Do you love me?” And Peter’s unrelenting response is: “You know I love you, Lord.” Jesus presses Peter, saying, “If you love me, feed my lambs. If you love me, tend my sheep. And yet again, if you love me, feed my sheep. With these words, Jesus tells us that we are all part of his family, and that we show our love for him by taking care of one another.

The 2012 Bishop’s Annual Appeal message is to help us feed and care for this “One Family, Our Family in Christ.”

We are members of one family of God, called by Christ to care for every one of our brothers and sisters through the Word of God and by helping all experience Christ‘s love and compassion. We are asked to share this love by feeding the hungry, ministering to the sick, and providing assistance for basic needs, that currently go unmet.

Each year, thanks to your support of the Bishop’s Annual Appeal, the diocese is able to feed and nurture the family of God – through our parishes, our ministries, and our schools. However, the programs and agencies we have in place to help the poor and most vulnerable are experiencing severe shortfalls of donations and contributions, while the number of people and families in need has risen dramatically. 

I am once again coming to you with an expanded goal of $8 million, which will include $1 million that will be specifically used to help support our social service programs that provide essential resources for those in our family who have the greatest need. 

Now, more than ever, we are called upon to again respond generously so that the Church in the Diocese of Trenton can live up to the mandate given to us by Christ; To love and support one another as One Family, Our Family in Christ.

Bishop David M. O’Connell, CM, JCD
Bishop of Trenton